Community invited to A Dickens of a Christmas Tuesday night

The community is invited to join Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens and merry Victorian carolers on the streets of downtown Spartanburg Tuesday for the 19th annual A Dickens of a Christmas.

By LEE G. HEALYlee.healy@shj.com

The community is invited to join Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens and merry Victorian carolers on the streets of downtown Spartanburg Tuesday for the 19th annual A Dickens of a Christmas.The festival, spanning Main Street from Daniel Morgan Avenue to Converse Street, traditionally marks the beginning of the local Christmas season with holiday music, roasting chestnuts and the lighting of the city’s official Christmas tree. And for the first time, Dickens visitors can lace up skates and take a spin around the city’s new ice skating rink.“It’s been a tradition for so long. It’s the way families like to come and start their Christmas season,” said Jane Warner, the city’s festivals coordinator. “This is the preparation for the happiness, the joy, all the celebrations of Christmas.”The festival’s namesake will be roaming through the crowd along Main Street, as will his famous “A Christmas Carol” character Scrooge. Santa Claus, of course, will make an appearance, and many storefronts will become stages for carolers or other performers.The tree-lighting event, hosted by longtime local talk-radio personality Bill Drake, is planned for 7:30 p.m. in Denny’s Plaza. The Spartanburg Community Band will provide entertainment.“It just makes people feel Christmas-y,” Warner said. “When that tree lights up, regardless of the type of tree, the size of tree, there’s a little magic that happens.”Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. and last until about 9 p.m.

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